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BlueBuddha · 15-11-2014, 07:59

All it took was barely a taste. A minor and inconsequential taste. It was the kind of taste that makes you embarrassed. Makes you lie. The kind that makes you tell your friends you've been thinking about it for years. That you went on many charters and fell in love. That after years of sailing you decided it was the right time. lies. How could you tell the truth without sounding irrational, naive? How could you explain that it all began during a cruise stop in the BVIs? That it was not even a sail boat but an open motor cat named Ocean Girls with a rum punch machine, obnoxious music, and drunk cruise passengers dancing to the dated macarena. How could you explain that your life plan changed because you sat on the trampoline and were mesmerized by the waves? That you closed your eyes and were hypnotized by the up and down of the bow. That you felt at home. That you saw people on sail boats anchored in the bays and wondered how they got there. That you saw yourself in them. How could you explain that all it took was barely a taste?

Tayana42 · 15-11-2014, 08:17

Nice beginning story. Beautiful imagery. We were all seduced by sailing one way or another. Tell us more.

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BlueBuddha · 15-11-2014, 08:30

Thanks!

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mow · 06-12-2014, 06:21

Is there more?

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BlueBuddha · 13-12-2014, 12:11

Quote:

Originally Posted by mow

Is there more?

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Yes, there will be more. I'm exploring alternatives to the good ol blog. Maybe I'll write it all here.

BlueBuddha · 21-12-2014, 18:08

December 2015.

It was a generic resort in Punta Cana. The hobie cats laid on the beach begging to go on the water. I approached the desk each morning asking for a lesson. "No amigo, mucho viento." Each morning it wouldn't be. I sat on the beach reading my ASA books day after day, staring at the cats that glided by. The day before our departure I finally walked to the desk again and heard "Hoy Si!".

His name was Raul. Likely not older than 19. "I'll have you sailing in no time" he said. I sat on the cat while he pushed it off the shore and into the waves. Suddenly he turned it sideways, the sails filled, he jumped on, and we took off. He never touched the sheets or the tiller. I was sailing for the very first time. Before I felt I knew what I was doing he asked me to take the cat close to shore. He jumped off. "you'll be fine. have fun". And then it was just me, a cat, and the wind.

Two days latter I cleared the snow off my car before leaving to work. I sat at the office again looking at pictures of liveaboard cats and plotting routes on openseamap, then my wife posted this: